UNIVERSAL AUDIO STARLIGHT MOD
Based on a trio of EMT plates from The Plant studio in Sausalito, California, here the Mod control varies the rate and depth.
![universal audio starlight universal audio starlight](https://media.rainpos.com/6854/g6hpcc5g.jpg)
The Plate 140 sounds here are like the UAD EMT plug-in we’ve encountered, and that may well be enough to sell this pedal alone. For spring reverb alone, the modelling here sounds incredibly authentic who have never spent quality time with the real thing. Dialled to the left of midnight on the Mix’s dry and wet tipping point, all will be great everyday go-to reverbs, with the cinematic territory lying beyond. The latter offering a richer and darker character. Your pickup preference should help you gravitate to one of the three options here that are themed around Bright, Smooth and Ambient. Smooth ambience or old school slap sound lush and glorious with our test guitars featuring a vintage-style Gibson P-90 and Fender Texas Special. The response to our playing dynamics is immediately satisfying and with time the incredible detail here is revealed. Bass and Treble controls are welcome additions to voice your ‘verb in the mix. Here the Decay control moves from stock to shorter and longer lengths while the Mod knobs handle wow and flutter. Vintage amp aficionados can salivate over the prospects of 12 reverb algorithms here zoning their tone hound snouts in on Spring 65’s spring tank models from mid-'60s guitar amps. Our pick of the best reverb guitar pedals for every type of guitar player, whatever your budget For these, the ABC type switch offers different options according to the delay type chosen that we’ll get to later. For the Starlight Echo Station, there’s Tape EP-III, Analog DMM and Precision digital delay. But in return, each of these DSP pedals combines multiple types of the coveted vintage effects in their field and most of them are new for the company, modelling classic algorithms from studio and stompbox units so for the Golden Reverberator it’s Spring, Plate and Hall with three variants in each. The prices may raise eyebrows, furthering the idea that UA is really the Apple of the musician market. But how successful is the expansion from plugins to physical stompboxes here? The feature set on this trio of reverb, delay and modulation pedals makes it clear the company means business. But the signs were there a few years ago when UA enticed TC Electronic’s Tore Mogensen to join them as Senior Product Manager.
![universal audio starlight universal audio starlight](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/739SmJRK0Bg/mqdefault.jpg)
The company’s first foray into effects pedals still seems significant, especially as its only overly guitar-based device before was the OX Box (the brainchild of James Santiago).